Blunderbus Theatre Company

The Blunderblog

30/01/2012 - A Fabulous Weekend in Chelmsford!
Simon
What a fabulous weekend spent at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre where Plop got to have lots of fun with all the amazing people who came to join him on his beautiful night time adventure. More...

25/01/2012 - Ever seen a dog stand on his head???
Simon
Hello friends! Well we find ourselves drawing ever closer to the weekend and we are all very excited here at Blunderbus as we look forward to seeing our little Plop take flight! More...

14/01/2012 - Mark and Ed's first week

As our baby blogger Kim, says goodbye (but don't worry she will be back), it is time to welcome two new arrivals to the Blunderbus Team. Mark Collier and Ed Wright have added their considerable skills to the Blunderbus team and joined the cast of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. It already seems to us like they have been here forever - in a good way of course! But we thought that you should all meet them too. So go ahead guys and introduce yourselves ... More...

03/01/2012 - The Blunderbus baby blogger bows out.
Kim
Hey all! Well, that’s it! We’ve just left Barnsley Civic Theatre, where we performed our final show in ‘The Very Snowy Christmas’ tour of 2011! And it was also my last day with Blunderbus. More...

11/12/2011 - A Christmas to remember
Karl
“I'm dreaming of a white christmas, just like the ones I used to know”... More...

11/12/2011 - A spiffing week in Andover
Nora and Albert
Golly! What a smashing week we are having at the Lights in Andover! More...

07/12/2011 - SNOWY hits the STAGE
Kim
Hope all is well at your end of the Computer screen! Just thought I’d write today because it was our first performance of ‘A Very Snowy Christmas’ in a theatre venue today, it was also my first ever professional theatre performance today too! More...

29/11/2011 - Parenting Tips for Owls: What to do when your child is afraid of the dark
Mr Barn Owl
Well everyone, lots of young ‘uns are afraid of the dark. But whether it’s a monster in the nest or a bogeyman lurking in the tree roots that’s troubling them, here’s how you parents can help your youngsters conquer their fears. More...

23/11/2011 - Snowy is on the road at last!
The Snowy Team
‘A Very Snowy Christmas’ kicked off its first ever tour yesterday, with Kim and Simon in Kneesall and Selby, and Chloe and Karl in Kidderminster. And so far we’ve had an outstanding two days! More...

22/11/2011 - A Peek into the Diary of Jemima…
Plop
Plop’s met so many exciting new people on his travels into the world. We take a look into the mind of his explorer friend, Jemima! More...

17/11/2011 - The day Diana Hendry visited...
Diana Hendry
It’s eight o’clock in the morning and I’m on the train from Edinburgh (where I live) to Newark to visit Blunderbus. More...

13/11/2011 - Guess who's coming to see us ?
simon
We are all very excited here at Blunderbus HQ because tomorrow, Diana Hendry, Author of The Very Snowy Christmas is coming to see us,Yippee! More...

06/11/2011 - The Snowy Team Get Started
Simon
So whilst Croc has a little break until next year,the Snowy Team are excited to start rehearsals with Big & Little Mouse for our magical winter show,A Very Snowy Christmas. More...

04/11/2011 - Blunderbus’ New Arrival!
Kim
Hello, Kim here, I’m the most recent addition to the ever expanding Blunderbus crew! Very excited to be here! More...

03/11/2011 - The Lyric, Hammersmith
Fay
Plop had a super time at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre last week! His only disappointment was that he couldn’t meet more people! More...

28/10/2011 - Half Term Hightlights
Felicity
Hello everybody! I hope you’re having a smashing half term (well not literally think of the mess, your mothers would not be pleased! You don’t want to be covered in icky, sticky berries like our Elmer.) More...

25/10/2011 - There is a mouse in my hotel!
Croc Team
Hello Everyone, I'm Little Mouse and I thought I would take you on a little adventure to the hotel Simon, Jeannette and Sophie have been staying at, in Malaysia. More...

15/10/2011 - A sneak peak inside the Forest at PJ Live Arts!
The Croc Team
Hello everyone and welcome to another update about our adventure in Kuala Lumpur and the amazing people who help to make The Selfish Crocodile such a wonderful show. More...

08/10/2011 - A Snappy letter from the Croc team
The Selfish Croc Team
The Croc team have been having lots of fun in Malaysia since our arrival on Wednesday afternoon. We wouldn’t have got it here though without all the wonderful help from the Blunderbus Team, particularly Bill who made sure we our show was ready for its trip overseas. More...

05/10/2011 - Happy Eeking
Fay
If you happened to be in Guildford Saturday you may have heard the sound of happy eeking. More...

29/09/2011 - Elmer the Elephant: Captain's Log, Day 1
The Captain
There have been some strange goings on in Guernsey of late. Reports of hit-and-run tickling, spontaneous happy dancing and uncontrollable laughter fill the newspapers. More...

21/09/2011 - We think it’s about time you met another member of Blunderbus…
Amelia
Please give a virtual round of applause for actor and all round lovely lady, Chloe Phillips. More...

20/09/2011 - Full Steam Ahead!
Simon
There's no stopping us here at Blunderbus HQ.We have not one,not two but three,yes three wonderful shows being brought to life by our gifted and generous team. More...

15/09/2011 - The original words are probably the best!
Fay
Hello Fay here, one of the brand new actors for The Owl Who Was Afraid fo the Dark. Here is a sneaky peek into my first week at Blunderbus HQ... More...

13/09/2011 - A new Elmer...
Karl
It’s currently 11.30pm at the end of my first day with Blunderbus… More...

09/09/2011 - Meet the team...
Amelia
It’s that time again everybody… More...

07/09/2011 - When Bernie visited...
Bernie from Kipper Tie Theatre
I knew I was going to like Blunderbus a lot when I was greeted at the office door by Lucy -previous inhabitant of Battersea dogs home – bearing a doggy grin and demanding to be patted. More...

04/09/2011 - My Friend Elmer.
Simon
We've recently been rehearsing 'The Selfish Crocodile' and tomorrow we begin to bring to life the story of 'The Owl who was afraid of the Dark'.Exciting times. More...

02/09/2011 - Another pair of helping hands...
Sarah
Hi my name is Sarah, I have just completed three years at Birmingham City University studying Theatre, Performance and Event design. More...

01/09/2011 - Meet the team...
Amelia
This will be a weekly mini post where you’ll learn who’s who at Blunderbus HQ and who better to start with than Trainee Stage Manager, Darrell Bracegirdle. More...

23/08/2011 - Sarah's first day at The Old Painter's Store
Sarah
I’m Sarah and I’m working with Blunderbus during the build period of the performance version of The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark... More...

22/08/2011 - A poem
Chloe
Here is a poem I have created about our wonderful time at Lawrence Batley Theatre... More...

19/08/2011 - Back in Blunder-world with Elmer and the Gang!
Chloe
After being away from the Blunder team for three whole weeks I was definitely eager to get back to Blunder Headquarters... More...

15/08/2011 - The coffee is on, but do we have enough mugs?!
Amelia
Today is a HUGE day for Blunderbus Theatre Company… More...

08/08/2011 - My first day...
Darrell
Hello everyone, I'm Darrell. It was my first official day for Blunderbus today and it has been the best I could have hoped for... More...

02/08/2011 - a new addition
Amelia
My name is Amelia and I am the newest addition to Blunderbus. At 23, I am couple of years out of University where I studied Drama and English Literature at Liverpool John Moores. I couldn't have dreamt I would be welcomed into such a perfect role as this so soon.... More...

23/07/2011 - After every storm, the sun will smile!
Bill
Oh, and how true that is. The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur, but now the sun seems to be shining... More...

23/07/2011 - More hands make light work
Bill
You can do anything, if you have a positive frame of mind, and a fantastic team of people behind you. And so, our record-breaking move began... More...

23/07/2011 - New homes for our old friends!
Bill
How lovely. Like a scene from Toy Story, lots of wonderful folk turned up to the workshop to offer a new home to some of our oldest friends. More...

23/07/2011 - We're on the move again
Bill
Well, what a busy time we're having in the world of Blunderbus. We found out just a few weeks ago that the landlord of our old workshop was selling up, and we were to be made homeless! More...

23/06/2011 - A Real Live Dragon at Maple Ridge School!
Hannah
The children at Maple Ridge really put a smile on our faces today! More...

22/06/2011 - Dotty flies into Epsom Downs Primary
Dotty
Dotty the Dragon flew into Epsom Downs school this week to a wonderful welcome! More...

18/06/2011 - Mr Jones' magical day! (A review)
Mr Jones
‘What is going to happen?’, ‘Is it going to be scary?’ and ‘Who is in it?'asked the children before watching the performance of ‘The Dragon’s Daughter’, all would be revealed as we entered the hall to see a lively and engaging set anf the two performers greeting us, sussing us out as we were with them. More...

09/06/2011 - Elmer Art Attack at Downsview Primary School
Chloe
The children at Downsview Primary School got creative in their classrooms and let out their inner elephants More...

01/06/2011 - Summertown welcomed the Rainbow Fish
Chloe, Paul and The Rainbow Fish
Rainbow Fish made a big splash in Summertown when she turned up to entertain all of the families at the church hall the other weekend. More...

27/05/2011 - A Magical day at Kingsland
Chloe, Paul and Little Mouse
What a magical day we had a Kingsland Primary School in Wakefield! All the children were delightful and we all really had a great time exploring Little Mouse’s house during the workshops, as you can see from the pictures. More...

24/05/2011 - Ollerton school's exciting 10 week project!
Hannah Stone
Blunderbus has the pleasure of working on a ten-week project with a Year Four and a Year One group at Ollerton Primary. We are working to encourage their speaking and language skills. More...

24/05/2011 - Birthday sing-alongs and Rainbow Fish paintings!
The Little Blue Fish
I had such a wonderful time at The Cramphorn in Chelmsford on Friday and Saturday. I made lots and lots of new friends who were all really keen to speak to me after the show and tell me all about their favourite parts. More...

22/05/2011 - Letter from America
Pat-Ann
A BIG Hello to all my Blunderbus family and friends from across the pond! I’m having the most amazing adventure in America! I’ve seen and done so much and all from the back of a chauffeur driven Cadillac! More...

18/05/2011 - A fabulous time at Washington Arts Centre!
Elmer the Elephant
Hello everyone, it's Elmer here! I have had two wonderful days at Washington Arts Centre. It's been lovely, and I made lots of new friends, too! More...

13/05/2011 - Newark Advertiser amazed by Ollerton Banner!
Chloe Phillips
The children of Ollerton Primary School were very proud to present the banner and poppy they designed to two members of the Royal British Legion yesterday. More...

03/05/2011 - The children go dotty for Dotty at St Nicholas C of E School
Paul, Chloe & Dotty
We loved meeting the children at St Nicholas C of E Primary School today, when we first arrived at the school we were greeted with the smiling face of Mathew.... More...

03/05/2011 - St George's Celebrations!
Bill Davies
Wow! What a parade! For the past three weeks, we have been working with community groups ad schools to make costumes, props and giant puppets for the St George's Day procession! More...

28/04/2011 - Talented artists at Christ the Sower School
Paul, Chloe & Dottie
Chloe, Paul and I had a lovely day today at Christ the Sower School. I made some wonderful new friends! More...

22/04/2011 - Elmer at The Rheged Centre
Katie, George, Jacob and Grandma
Thank you for a fantastic show today! The atmosphere was magical, and we loved the puppets... Particularly the giraffes! A brilliant show... I've recommended it to all! said Mummy Katie More...

22/04/2011 - The Rodwell's travelled all the way to Cambridge to see Elmer
Sarah, Callum and Lily
We were all so excited to travel to Cambridge to see you at The Junction. More...

19/04/2011 - Jolly time at The Junction!
Elmer, Simon and Hannah
What a great day I've had today here in Cambridge with lots of friends both old & new. Now imagine my surprise when it was time to pack up the fun and go home and my chums, Simon & Hannah were nowhere to be found. More...

19/04/2011 - A magical outing to see The Dragon's Daughter
Fred, Theresa, Charlotte, Natalie, Dylan and Dottie , of course!
Our thanks to Fred and Theresa who brought their grandchildren Charlotte (7), Natalie (4), Dylan (3)to see The Dragon's Daughter at Guildford. More...

19/04/2011 - Kenton Youth Festival
Paula Humm and Kites Class (Sonning Common Primary School)
'Awesome' was how some of the children from Kites class described their recent visit to The Kenton Theatre. More...

19/04/2011 - Pemberton and Carruthers spend two days with Beech Green primary School
Elmer, Pemberton and Carruthers
Hannah and Simon and Elmer had a lovely fun filled two days at the brilliant Beech Green school. More...

19/04/2011 - Dotty has some visitors from Scotland!
Dottie, Chloe, Jeannette and Paul
Paul, Jeannette and I were lucky enough to get the opportunity to perform Dragon’s Daughter at the Kenton Theatre in Henley on Thames last week as part of the Henley Youth Festival. More...

19/04/2011 - Elmer's visit to Chipping Norton
Elmer, Hannah, Simon and Jeannette
Fairy tales in Chipping Norton. Hello everyone, Elmer here, today I made some fabulous new friends in Chipping Norton! Here you can see Edith and Ava, who live at the very cosy Randles Cottage. More...

19/03/2011 - Monkey around at the Batu Caves!
Elmer the elephant
Hello again, my explorer friends! Well, I have seen so many beautiful sights on my trip to Malaysia. And today was no exception! I was lucky enough to visit the Batu Caves, which are just a few miles North of Kuala Lumpur, where my lovely hotel is! More...

18/03/2011 - Elmer meets some Malaysian friends
Elmer the Elephant
Hello, again! How are you? Today was a very, very, very exciting day for me as I got to meet some of my Malaysian Elephant friends at Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary. More...

13/03/2011 - Teacher time at Julia Gabriel School, Kuala Lumpur
Hannah, Simon and Darrell
Hello, everyone! Simon, Hannah and Darrell very kindly took me to see some teachers at Julia Gabriel school today! We were running a Teacher Inset day to prepare the school for our performance. The teacher's were very friendly and welcoming. More...

13/03/2011 - Elmer is just here, there and everywhere!
Hannah Stone
NEWS FLASH! Elmer seems to have developed magic powers. He can morph himself into any size or shape and transport himself to any place he pleases. More...

12/03/2011 - It's a hard life being a theatre dog.
Lucy Dog
Since Bill has been in Malaysia I have been doing my very best to keep everything going whilst he has been away. More...

12/03/2011 - Hello from Dotty and LIttle Mouse
Dotty and Little Mouse
Hello Elmer. We had to borrow one of the computers at Hextable to send you this e-mail. But Julie didn't mind when she knew it was for you. We had a bit of trouble reaching the keys but with a bit of team work we managed. More...

11/03/2011 - A very Mexican elephant!
Elmer the elephant
Hello, my lovely explorer friends, Today, after our show I was given a special treat. I was taken to a Mexican restaurant where I gobbled up some delicious burritos and tortillas and also some fajitas! More...

09/03/2011 - Little Mouse has some extra special guests
Team Noisy
Hi Elmer, It looks like you are having lots of good adventures on your trip and you have made even more friends at the hotel. More...

07/03/2011 - Little Mouse has a fantastic day at Heather Ridge Infant School!
Chloe Phillips
Today team Noisy were at the lovely Heather Ridge Infant School in Camberley, Surrey. The children and staff at the school were great fun and we all had a fantastic day with Little Mouse. More...

07/03/2011 - A day in the life of Elmer in MALAYSIA!
Elmer the Elephant
Hello everyone! I am having a lovely time here in Kuala Lumpur. The weather is beautiful but I am being very careful and applying sun cream everyday so I don't end up a very sunburnt elephant instead of a patchwork one. More...

09/03/2011 - Elmer flies off to Kuala Lumpur!
Elmer the Elephant
Hello, everybody (not forgetting my very best friend, Little Mouse!). Just to let you know that today I flew off on my holidays to Malaysia. I'll be telling my lovely story to the children out here for the next three weeks. More...

28/02/2011 - Adventure - Here we come!!
Jeannette
Finally, the day has arrived and Team Elmer are off to sunnier places! More...

28/02/2011 - High Flying Elmer
Paul
Elmer is off on his holidays, Flying high on a plane, His destination. Malaysia, And out of the British rain. More...

27/02/2011 - Dragon's Daughter, A review from the Rodwell family!
Callum & Lily (Oh, and mummy Sarah)
The 'Dragon's Daughter' team, (Kat, Sophie, Richard, Paul, Chloe and Jeannette) have been performing at the Norwich Dragon's Festival. We were very lucky to be invited to perform at the Norwich Playhouse, with hundreds of children and their families coming along to enjoy the show! More...

26/02/2011 - A very special friend

Dotty visited the Norwich Playhouse today and made a very special new friend. More...

26/02/2011 - Sell-out shows at Harrow Arts Centre!
Chloe Phillips
Today, Tuesday 22nd February, we have been to the Harrow Arts Centre where we had a sell-out show!! The audience were fantastic and really got involved in the show. More...

26/02/2011 - Little Mouse meets Skye, Isabella and Eva!
Chloe Phillips
Little Mouse had a fantastic day out in Newbury this week when he took us all along to perform at the Arlington Arts Centre. Paul’s family were there to see the show too which Little Mouse was very excited about, especially when Paul’s Nephews, David and Sam gave him the lovely picture that they had made, which he loved, Thank you boys. More...

26/02/2011 - Elmer & friends at The Met, Bury.

What a wonderful time I've had today with all my patchwork friends. More...

26/02/2011 - LucyDog, the great explorer!
Bill Davies
It's been a very busy few weeks for everybody here at Blunderbus! Lisa and Bill have been building a huge wooden bridge for a production of 'Pack up your Troubles', to be performed in Manchester in April. More...

24/02/2011 - Fluorescent Fun for Four Fortunate Friends

We had lots of fun in South Holland yesterday with Bev and Andy. Here you can see them being very silly. Ridiculous! Blunderbusians would never be this silly. More...

24/02/2011 - A Family Day Out with Little Mouse

I had a treat today at the wonderful Arlington Arts Centre when my family came to watch me and Little Mouse in The Very Noisy Night! More...

19/02/2011 - After the rain came the Rainbows
Jeannette
Little Mouse took the Noisy Night team to Riverhead Theatre today - and made some new friends while he was there. More...

18/02/2011 - What an introduction to Goole!
Jeannette
A new venue is always an exciting place to visit, but a little bit scarey as well as we don't know what kind of reception we will receive. It's like the first day at school - will anyone be your friend? More...

12/02/2011 - What a Lovely Manor

Today we visited the lovely new theatre space at Manor Community Primary School! More...

11/02/2011 - A Very Patchwork Giraffe

Elmer went to visit the wonderful Rye St Antony school today and he took Simon and Hannah along with him. More...

26/01/2011 - A Review Of The Very Noisy Night from Diana Hendry
Diana Hendry
When Diana Hendry, the author of The Very Noisy Night came to watch our production, we really wanted her to like it. Luckily she did, and here is her wonderful review for you all to read. Thank you Diana More...

28/01/2011 - My First Week At Blunderbus
Paul
Hi everyone. My name is Paul and i am a new member of the Blunderbus team. I am going to be performing in 'The Very Noisy Night'. More...

28/01/2011 - First Week In A Nutshell
Chloe
Hello everyone, my name is Chloe and im a new member of the Blunderbus team. Im going to be performing in The Very Noisy Night. More...

23/01/2011 - A wonderful week of rehearsals
Bill Davies
Well, we have had a fabulous week, with our resident acting company taking great care in rehearsing our new team members, Hannah, Chloe and Paul into our lovely shows. More...

19/01/2011 - Up close and personal with the puppets already!

Hannah is joining the Elmer team and is looking forward to making children giggle! More...

17/12/2010 - Santa's Elves Pack Up for Christmas

Today was our final performance of Santa's Little Helper. More...

16/12/2010 - Chaos in Santa's Grotto

Hello, I'm the Little White Rabbit and I've been having such fun out on the road with Blunderbus' Christmas production of Santa's Little Helper. More...

06/12/2010 - A Very Snowy Blog

After spending the week struggling through the snow to get to all our schools we decided to spend Sunday having fun, playing in it. More...

03/12/2010 - Happy Birthday Bill

This week was Bill's birthday and we hope he had an amazing day. More...

03/12/2010 - Who needs a hot water bottle when you have a dragon?!

Hey there our fire breathing friends, We hope you are keeping warm in front of a Roaring fire. More...

28/11/2010 - It's curtains for that mouse when I get my paws on him!
Freddie the Cat
Lesley and Pat were working so hard on repairing Little Mouse's curtains that I thought I'd give them a hand (I mean paw!) More...

29/10/2010 - Hello I'm Little Mouse....

... and here I am lying quietly in my new bed. You'd never guess what a handful I can be sometimes! In the end it took Kat and Bill to get me under control! More...